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[ After the shitshow that has been his love life, Stefan has taken to the culinary pursuit of ice cream sundaes. Two tubs of Ben and Jerry's had morphed into a legendary sundae on the counter, or at least the makings of one: in addition to the two tubs in hand, he also has four lying on the counter, along with hot fudge sauce, crumbled bits of waffle cones, sprinkles (rainbow and chocolate), and of course, fresh cherries.

The sundae bowl is ridiculously big, and Stefan's only just started on the first layer. He gives Barry a wave as he holds up a tub - rocky road - and then glances back towards the Sundae of Woe ^TM. Or at least, the Sundae of Woe that he's half-constructed.]

Uh-huh. [He laughs nervously, motioning for Barry to join him at the counter. The theme is more 50's sockhop diner, complete with a working soda fountain and milkshakes galore, but it's fitting. Stefan doesn't think he could've handled something from home.] I uh, didn't realize it would get this out of hand.

[But, he brightens as he sits down on one of the cushioned barstools, helping himself to a metal ice cream scooper as he continues to construct the largest Sundae he could make. There are utensils too, lying around in case someone's impatient.]

Sorry, I guess you probably wanted real food.

Edited 2017-02-10 23:42 (UTC)

[ barry's much like a magpie, easily distracted by a shiny object. the shiny object that glitters nicely isn't a piece of foil or even a broken bit of metal, but the tub of rocky road, the soda fountain, and the milkshakes he can spy on the counter. every time he steps into the kitchen, something new greets him — and he's always spent far too long in here, enjoying the padding of the cushions, the decor, the food. ]

[ sometimes he wants to run so fast he ends up back in that timeframe, but he knows that that's impossible. doc had told him as much, and he has a feeling he wouldn't enjoy it just like marty mcfly if he wound up in a 1950s central city, even though it would've been cool to see his parents as young kids. ]

[ once he sits, arms folded on the tabletop with him leaning on them, he glances around again, much like a kid in a candy store. ]

What are you talking about? [ his face is open, expression bright. ] This is real food. [ and then he leans back, unfolding his arms, and enjoys how the cushions very much feel like how they look in the movies. the 1950s knew how to cushion the tush. ]

[ he looks toward his sundae pointedly. ] Didn't picture you to have a serious sweet tooth.

[A relieved sigh escapes his lips. Good, he wouldn't have to pull out hamburgers and fries out of the fridge, or whatever would constitute "real food." Stefan wouldn't have had the appetite.]

I don't. I uh, wasn't exactly thinking about how much I'd make.

[He raises his eyebrows in amusement, peering up from the masterpiece he's crafting. Stefan is a perfectionist at heart: he'll work for hours to ensure that he's done it Just Right. Sure, he doesn't need to eat. The more he rolls up his sleeves and feels the sprinkles in his hands, though, the more he realizes how human he feels.

Food nourishes the body and the soul - and if he remembered right, Mr. Allen was pretty fond of sugar packets. At least this would be a tastier way to gain that sugar rush!]

No pressure to finish, by the way. [Though they should probably take a picture or two for that Wonderland scrapbook.] I think we can summon a freezer big enough to hold this.

Don't underestimate me because of my size. [ barry shakes his head, and he slowly pulls his own ice-cream close toward him, as if stefan's threatened to take it away. ] I might be a professional beanpole, but I can put it away. Even if it takes me all day and all night.

[ or just a few seconds, but, barry's trying to pretend that he's a normal person with normal habits and a normal working metabolism. he could scoff this down in half a second, he thinks, and end up with a brain freeze that lasts for half of that. he doesn't know if he likes pretending that he's as normal as he used to be pre-lightning. that barry allen had been great, but unfulfilled. ]

[ eating slowly, though, makes sure he savours it. he needs to learn to do that in more aspects of his life. so he grabs a spoon and scoops out a bit, as if to show this is his start to his own small challenge. ]

If I end up on the floor because of a brain freeze, just leave me there.

No way. [Stefan closes his eyes solemnly, as if he's reciting a sacred oath:] He who makes the Sundae must also partake in eating said Sundae.

[He suspects that he won't last long. His stomach was not built to sustain something of this size, and he had been piling on topping after topping in an attempt to distract him from his hideous personal life. Even when he wasn't in Mystic Falls, the ever-present misery certainly followed. Not exactly the interdimensional blessing Stefan would've asked for.

Reluctantly, he takes a spoon and savors that first bite. Mm, it's creamier than he remembered, and far sweeter than he expected. He's going to have to brush his fangs extra carefully tonight.

(He really should've wished up that Tupperware while he was at it).]

We're friends now, Barry, and friends don't let friends just lie there alone.

Edited 2017-02-18 09:05 (UTC)

[ he raises his hand, fingers save for his index wrapped into his palm. ] Okay, but if Beyonce's performing at the Superbowl again, it's totally okay to abandon a friend. [ because if anyone's going to be abandoning anyone for beyonce, it's barry allen. ]

[ he laughs and shakes his head. tucking into his sundae, he eats it just a little more slowly than he usually would. even though his brain freezes last for a second of how they do for anyone else, he's become a little used to ensuring he doesn't inhale ice-cream at an alarming rate. ]

[ pointing to the sundae with his spoon, his mouth is cold and full, ] So why are we Sundaeing?

Oh. [There's no easy way to say this, so Stefan sets his spoon down and glances over at Barry.] Um, my girlfriend - ex-girlfriend now, I guess - dumped me for my brother. Again.

[He grimaces, not necessarily at being dumped so much as being dumped again in the span of two months. A guy should've taken the hint the first time around, but part of Stefan had wanted to believe that there was hope. That maybe, in some distant corner of the universe, Elena would come to her senses and date him again.

How did that old saying go? Fool me once, shame on me, but fool me twice...]

I already tried the "drowning your sorrows" thing? Didn't really work out, so I figured we'd go Sundaeing instead.

[ he scoops some ice-cream out of his bowl, letting it cool his tongue and the roof of his mouth. he does wonder if it'll ever slow him down when he runs, but then he realises the cold has to probably be outside of his body, rather than be a simple food consumed and digested within seconds. it's something to experiment with later, when the ice-cream's a part of a scientific research project and not a part of socialisation with a friend. ]

[ he scoops more ice-cream out of his bowl, but leaves his spoon hanging as he looks at stefan. ]

That sounds ... [ he plunges his spoon back into the ice-cream, as if he had forgotten he'd swept some out in the first place. he looks down for a second, and almost makes out to grab more of the dessert but leaves his spoon buried inside of it. ] That sounds rough. [ then he looks up again. ] It's a little out of Bold and the Beautiful, but ... Even if you're not close with your brother, that's got to be tough.

[He blinks back genuine surprise, glancing over at Barry with relief, and maybe even a little gratitude.] Y-yeah, it is.

[It's weird. All this time, he figured that he would have to suck it up (no pun intended) and bottle up the grief, the anger, and maybe even the despair. He may lack their history, but he knows how much Elena mattered to him. How much he had mattered to her.

What was the point in being good, he had asked that poor boy once. Part of Stefan still has no idea.

"Good" seems so hilariously disappointing in Mystic Falls: even your hero hair can't withstand the pain. But the sympathy? That's - that's more than what he was expecting, and Stefan has to carefully brush back the tears from his eyes.]

I don't exactly remember our history, so I shouldn't be this upset, but what kind of brother neglects to tell you that he's got feelings for your ex?

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